Rapid semiquantitative elemental screening of pharmaceutical samples is described using the Agilent 7500ce ICP-MS with helium as collision gas. Polyatomic interferences are eliminated in the He pressurized cell, enabling rapid elemental profiling of pharmaceutical tablets for screening purposes. Elements which normally suffer from polyatomic interferences have been included in the semiquantitat...

BACKGROUND We report a patient-centered intervention study in 9 municipalities of rural Nicaragua aiming at a reduction of internalized social stigma in new AFB positive tuberculosis (TB) patients diagnosed between March 2004 and July 2005. METHODS Five out of 9 municipal teams were coached to tailor and introduce patient-centered package. New TB patients were assigned to the intervention gro...

Stroke is one of leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Early detection during golden hour and treatment of individual neurological dysfunction in stroke using easy-to-access biomarkers based on a simple-to-use, cost-effective, clinically-valid screening tool can bring a paradigm shift in healthcare, both urban and rural. In our research we have designed a quantitative automatic home-...

Human exposure assessment and the results of implementing 'precautionary avoidance' suggested a relationship between a hairdresser's neuropsychiatric symptoms and occupational exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals. A variety of investigations in response to patient complaints of depression, emotional instability and various physical symptoms revealed no objective abnormality; the CH2OPD2 ...

The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) is an observation-based screening tool that has been used to assess postural risks of children in school settings. Studies using eye-tracking technology suggest that visual search strategies are influenced by experience in the task performed. This study investigated if experience in postural risk assessments contributed to differences in outcome scores on ...

This study aimed to examine: the prevalence and correlates of depression among adults age 65 and over on admission to diverse home health care programs; nurse compliance with routine screening using the PHQ-9; and concordance between the number of depressed individuals identified by the PHQ-9 and Medicare-mandated nursing assessment following targeted nurse training in identifying depression am...

OBJECTIVE To develop a screening tool to identify elderly patients at the end of life and quantify the risk of death in hospital or soon after discharge for to minimise prognostic uncertainty and avoid potentially harmful and futile treatments. DESIGN Narrative literature review of definitions, tools and measurements that could be combined into a screening tool based on routinely available or...